20 Jul 2015

IFA Farm Business Chairman Tom Doyle has welcomed today’s Department of Health review of the Fair Deal scheme that recognises IFA’s concerns about the treatment of farming assets in determining the means test.

Tom Doyle said, “IFA has long identified that the operation of the scheme has created significant financial difficulties for some farm families due to the potentially uncapped liability on family farms to pay for nursing home care. This has led to uncertainty and anxiety that the viability of the family farm business will be undermined or lost when attempting to meet the costs of care and that the next generation may be restricted from borrowing money and investing in their farm”.

The Chair of IFA’s Farm Family Committee Maura Canning called on Minister Kathleen Lynch to implement the IFA proposal that a cap should be applied to the charge for nursing home care based on non-residential productive assets which are passed onto a direct family member.

IFA believes that there must be a cap on the maximum percentage charge that can be applied to non-residential, productive assets, in all circumstances. The cap must ensure that the viability of the transferred farm is protected.